Cleanest Build Ever - But at What Cost? (ft RX 7900 GRE)
Ғылым және технология
Cleanest Build Ever - But at What Cost? (ft RX 7900 GRE)
▷ MY STORE - shirts, pint glasses & hoodies: paulshardware.net
This video is a bit of a double-feature -- a light review of the Radeon RX 7900 GRE, which is now available globally, and my first ever build with rear-facing motherboard connectors. The RX 7900 GRE is represented by PowerColor's Hellhound edition, and the MSI Project Zero motherboard with back-side connectors is fully supported by Corsair's new 2500D case. I also got to try out building with Corsair's proprietary iCue Link ecosystem for RGB and fan connection, and I included some quick tests to finish things off. Enjoy!
⚡ CORSAIR / MSI PARTS I BUILT WITH TODAY
MSI MSI B650M Project Zero Gaming Motherboard - geni.us/gXBXD
Corsair 2500D Case - www.corsair.com/us/en/p/pc-ca...
Corsair RM850X PSU - geni.us/xTwyu
Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 6000 RAM - geni.us/nY8k
Corsair MP600 Core XT NVME M.2 SSD (2TB + 4TB) - geni.us/XCB0sP3
Corsair RX120 RGB Fans (3-pack, 2x expansion fans) - geni.us/5S8JgZB
Corsair iCue Link H150i RGB AIO CPU Cooler - geni.us/RX1b
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D CPU - geni.us/BFWw6J
💰 MY "SENSIBLE" 7900 GRE GAMING PC BUILD -- $1250-$1350
CPU:
Ryzen 5 7600 6c/12t ($210, includes cooler) - bit.ly/3SR2uTu / geni.us/9rALRBa
Other CPU Options:
Ryzen 5 7600 6c/12t ($230, no cooler) - bit.ly/3Sjxpoo
Ryzen 7 7700 8c/16t ($300, includes cooler) - geni.us/9C1jins
Ryzen 7 7700X 8c/16t ($330 after promo, no cooler) - bit.ly/3xWonWj
Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8c/16t ($370, no cooler) - bit.ly/3zASi6I
CPU Cooler (if upgrading from stock or choosing a CPU with no stock cooler):
Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE ($36) - geni.us/IQMpP
VIDEO CARD:
XFX Radeon RX 7900GRE Gaming ($550) - geni.us/pi9ur3
PowerColor Hellhound Radeon RX 7900 GRE ($580) - geni.us/8JeK9DJ
OTHER GPU OPTIONS:
ASUS Dual RTX 4070 Super 12GB ($600) - geni.us/bh6B
SAPPHIRE Pulse Radeon RX 7800 XT 16GB ($490) - geni.us/EacQd
MOTHERBOARD:
MSI B650 Gaming Plus WIFI ($180, $165 after coupon) - geni.us/rCNf2Dn
Gigabyte B650 Gaming X AX ($190) - geni.us/JX0HDt
MEMORY:
G.SKILL 32GB (2x16GB) Flare X5 DDR5-6000 RAM ($105) - geni.us/bwJZ
CASE:
Phanteks Eclipse P400A ATX Case ($70, $50 after MIR) - bit.ly/3OM3HJ0
SSD:
Gen3 - Mushkin Helix-L 2TB PCIE 3.0 M.2 NVME SSD ($100) - bit.ly/3HYWmBR
PSU:
Thermaltake Smart BM3 750W 80+ Bronze 750W ($70) - geni.us/F99FUp
Thermaltake Toughpower 750W 80+ Gold Modular PSU ($80) - geni.us/QbWALTT
► Radeon RX 7900 GRE Reviews
ArsTechnica - arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/...
TomsHardware - www.tomshardware.com/pc-compo...
Hardware Unboxed - • Were Mistakes Made? Ra...
Gamers Nexus - • AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE...
► TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro / Mini-Review: Radeon RX 7900 GRE just “launched”...
2:41 A cost-effective $1250-$1350 RX 7900 GRE build
4:38 And now for a Completely Different Build
5:15 Parts for The Build - CPU, GPU, MSI Project Zero Motherboard
5:53 Parts for The Build - Corsair 2500D Case, iCue Link Parts, RX120 fans
8:09 Begin The Build! Closer Look at Corsair 2500D Case
10:22 Back-side Motherboard Connectors: Pros and Cons
12:55 Build Continues - CPU AIO, Fans, PSU, Cable Mgmt, GPU
14:22 Build Complete! RX 7900 GRE Mini-Review Conclusion
17:11 My Thoughts on Corsair 2500D Case, RX120 Fans, iCue Link Setup
20:27 System Stress Test for Temps, Airflow and Noise
Please note that links above may be affiliate links -- clicking them earns me a small commission if you make a purchase and helps support my KZread channel. Thank you!
▷ MY STORE - shirts, pint glasses & hoodies: paulshardware.net
▷ SOCIAL
Twitter: @paulhardware
/ paulhardware
Facebook:
/ 195425877329550
Instagram:
/ paulhardware
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Paul's Hardware
P.O. Box 4325
Diamond Bar, CA 91765
► Edited by Joe Aguilar - ShaostylePostProductions
/ joe_editing
Audio file(s) provided by Epidemic Sound
www.epidemicsound.com/
Пікірлер: 269
The magical Golden Rabbit…
We will lose the ability to test the components out on the mobo box first, as the on the back connectors, would be in the way of the mobo laying flat. Other than that it looks good to me, nice build.
@paulshardware
3 ай бұрын
This is another reasonable point that I don't think I've heard anyone bring up about the backside connectors. Thanks for the comment!
@freighter1097
3 ай бұрын
So lay it on its front then.
@garetht677
Ай бұрын
make a card board cut out from a spare box with the matching holes for the cables you need.
Whoever decided to put the connectors on the back deserves a raise
@RANDOMNATION907
3 ай бұрын
100% Agree
@ToothlessSnakeable
3 ай бұрын
Fancy seeing you in the comments. Used to watch your videos back in the day.
@theduck17
3 ай бұрын
Nah, case needed to support this is too wide for my taste. Still like my front connectors.
@cs2n845
3 ай бұрын
Motherboard design has barely changed and leaves a lot to be desired. It's good to see innovation.
@brandenwaite
3 ай бұрын
The only way they'd deserve more of a raise is if they came up with a 600 watt throughput, in which you send multiple hidden 8 pins or whatever the next industry standard will be... into your motherboard, and there's multiple male to male adapters for the board and gpu, again whatever the next industry standard is... Then everyone would make the power come from the back/the motherboard. But I just pooped that idea out... I'm sure no one will ever steal my poopy idea.
"why aren't all those motherboard connectors on the back side, and why in the hell can't they make connectors on the side of the psu???" - i have asked myself probably 15years ago...and finally, some manager/engineer came that also likes to build pc's and got enough money and/or is on some high power position in a specific pc-hardware company to make it happen 😃but hey, better late than never 🤣
@WhiteError37
3 ай бұрын
Corsair Rx has got this I used it in my build
@Audiosan79
3 ай бұрын
It realy limits the cases that can be used. you need a lot more space behind the MB tray. And the same problem goes for side mounted connectors on the PSU. In a case with the PSU on the bottom, you need more space on the side than a lot of cases got.
Some may say that these long form videos are not as good, but I actually love these longer videos with all the information I need! Thanks for the video, and God Bless Paul!
At this point, I could take it or leave it as far as the backside connectors are concerned. IMO, this should've happened a long time ago. My concern about it, is it's inevitably going to be another reason for case/mobo companies to jack prices up.
@AwesomeKenneth240
2 ай бұрын
I hate that I agree with this.
Well done Paul! At least one of the top tier creators has realised that the 2500 case is designed to allow the Project Zero type mainboards 🙂👍 lots of excellent "case" puns are always appreciated 🥴🖖
Great video Paul. I've been planning on doing a new build with the backside plugs and an AM5 motherboard and I am even more interested now in doing one now with the new setup. Thanks for all the great info. This is why I've been a follower of yours since your days with Newegg :P
That is a really nice-looking build. Two thumbs up Paul.
Corsair iCue ecosystem is a nice environment and probably an effective direction which should be followed (by Corsair and by other manufacturers too), but right now it is too damn expensive.
@SkateClipsAndTips
3 ай бұрын
Literally have to buy all the cables and shit. They being greedy with it
@freighter1097
3 ай бұрын
@@SkateClipsAndTips A company trying to make money? Say it isn't so.
Love to see that the wiring on the back is growing on him. I really like to see my custom psu cables. Keep up the great work you guys and stay safe.
I really like that case and that was one great looking build. Nice job Paul.
I know JJ gonna be reading these comments, Hey JJ!, but call me old but I like the look of nicely done wires, and pipes. I do like the idea of the video card power slot, but still not a big deal to me. I like my nice wires.
love this Vid, and just love that new motherboard style.
14:10 when that sax came in, well done Joe, well done.
That garage set looks amazing btw
This is one super clean build. I was wondering about the AIO pump connectors, but Corsair seems to have them built into the radiator. That is smart.
@paulshardware
3 ай бұрын
The power, RPM, RGB cabling for the AIO pump/block is all fed into the tubing sleeving, and then connected to the hub that's at one end of the radiator. I meant to call that out in the video, it's really nice not to have to plug any little plugs directly into the pump/block unit.
@LucDesormeaux
3 ай бұрын
@@paulshardwareAgreed. I just installed a Thermalright AIO in my PCT and, god, I hate these connectors. 😀
one of the best looking builds i've seen a while
Very nice. Thanks. Makes me want to build one.
Good to see this build. I always enjoy your practical, hands on videos, as well as the way you present relevant tech news. I did find it a little strange that the 7900 GRE GPU was cited as having a performance uplift of only around 4%, in comparison to the 7800 XT. Most of the reviews and testing that I've come across talk about easily double that and more - at around 10% and higher. However, I think that this is going to be a moving target issue anyway, since AMD have said that they're going to remove the artificial OC limits on the 7900 GRE. I wonder how they can do that and still maintain the price point of the 7900 XT cards, so that should be interesting. I hope also you are taking time for yourself and enjoying what you do.
These new motherboards with the connectors in the back is very interesting. Also the new kinds of fans that can be connected together. I want to build a pc that is very easy to upgrade.
I love the concept of the back connectors, but I can't deny I also simply love the look of some beautiful braided custom cables.
I like the PSU cables in the front tbh, but everything else is fine in the back. Something about braided and colored PSU extensions are so nice looking to me!
@Lurch-Bot
3 ай бұрын
Could also easily be a fire hazard if you go cheap. Even if you get high quality extensions, you are doubling the length of cables that move a lot of power, which increases heat and may make the original cables (and indeed even the extensions) an insufficiently thin gauge to be safe, from an engineering standpoint. They're probably fine on a low power budget build but for a high end system, you're gonna want to get a modular PSU and high quality custom cables for it.
@djbotello
3 ай бұрын
@@Lurch-Bot I have the official corsair replacement cables. Super high quality but I was just speaking in general. Generally, braided extension cables, or high quality replacement cables, have been pretty reliable for the last few years. Unless you're getting sketchy 2 dollar extensions, I don't really see a problem anymore, and even THAT can be ok these days lol. I see your point but that's kind of an old take tbh, things are generally fine now for braided PSU cables/extensions.
@RmX.
9 күн бұрын
This is why a lot of RTX 4090 catch on fire, they use massive amount of power
What a gloriously clean build
I like the look of neatly combed cables routed in the traditional manner. The build turned out very nice though
Wow impressed by the easy set up. Think that's worth the bit extra cost. Amazing tech, my last build has a billion wires it seems!
Hopefully board manufacturers keep an option for front side power connectors with all others on the rear. I prefer custom braided cables
And here's me still rocking an old Silverstone FT02. Don't think I'll be changing anytime soon either since they've decided to nix proper 5.25 and 3.5 bays in a lot of new cases.
@devinm2806
3 ай бұрын
I have a be quiet 500dx and it's got two hard drive bays, and they be got rubber pads to reduce vibration
@anonemus2971
3 ай бұрын
I'm rocking a old Corsair Carbide 400R. four 5.25in bays seven 3.5in bays. And 8 possible fans.
@pottingsoil723
3 ай бұрын
Phanteks Enthoo Pro. Probably never gonna change this case, it has great ambient temps and airflow.
They really need to do this from now now and have the connectors on motherboards be on the back so you can connect everything from the backside without going through all the hassles.
I just bought a 140mm 2 pack of these. I'm going to try them conjunction with their A115 Twin Tower Cooler. I already had a link set up and I wanted to switch to air cooling but the QX fans don't have the best static pressure. Looking forward to seeing how they preform with my 14700k. I also bought a Thermal Grizzly contact frame too.
I have the big brother of that case, the 6500d...got it last week I'm waiting on full atx reverse cable board to come out before I switch over but I do have a new am5 board to hold me over(I need more m.2 slots) and ddr5 and 7800x 3d. Also already had the iCue link and it's been pretty solid for me so far, I went all in and got the xd 5 elite water pump too so really minimal on cables which is really really really nice. Honestly...it has been one of the best cases I've built in for a very long time, sure there are some quality of life things I would have liked them to include, like velcro straps in the back more mounting points for 2.5 inch drives...though I just seen there may be more than I thought...will need to look into that front panel area tomorrow. While it seems minor the reduced cable clutter from iCue and others that do the same really is so nice when building and doing maintenance on the system. One thing I noticed and I really like..is the zero rpm mode on the case fans, even during some games that have a lighter load the fans often just go nah I'm not needed and I've still got stable temps around 50-60 and they switch on above that which is tied into the water temp monitored by the pump. It's a pretty glorious time to be doing a new pc build or updating an existing one.
Although the times of lugging our machines to LANs are pretty much over you could make a video of how to secure a PC for transportation, maybe for moving flats a couple towns over.
Would love to see a Paul build on air that looks dope.
I am kinda jelly. That is a clean build man!
Nice build
All the FPC in a single cable/connector is.... amazing
@benjaminoechsli1941
3 ай бұрын
_Long_ overdue.
I really love this case and the new larger one that looks like a aquarium also, If I wouldn't have just traded out my 5000D for NZXT H9 Flow I would have gotten the larger Corsair one
I get outstanding cooling with a conventional airflow case w two 140 intake fans and one 120 exhaust fan, and a $35 air cooler. All these fans and lights strike me as silly. But I like the rear connectors, maybe in a case w the motherboard rotated 90 degrees to reduce the footprint.
great vid Paul and the team. 50 quid a fan!! are they having a laugh
damn tried twice to remove the branding on the A/C thinking it was a smudge my screen :D
"Perfectly adequate cooling" lol
Really good looking build, super clean. Would it have been excessive to put more fans in the bottom just for extra rainbow RGB effect? Would that be too much intake, or is it even possible to add them?
I found out that the reference card 6800 xt which shows by default the Radeon logo in red, is actually rgb. You can control the lights with OpenRGB software.
nice build paul.
Sounds like Paul got his numbers from the flawd HUB review. Rip
l think it all looks good. Thank you Paul!
iCue Link looks pretty fantastic ngl
If you were building a gaming only pc what would you change on this build? I have a 4080 already and looking to upgrade from a 5950x. Great build thanks.
I thought long and hard about the 4070 Super but I don’t need the performance so I went with the 7800XT.
@ObakuZenCenter
3 ай бұрын
It's a sweet card depending on the model.
It's nice for clean new builds. Owners of older cases would create a new market for extra long motherboard stand-off screws win-win?
7900 GRE - Golden Rab... well I guess now Global Release Edition? Also, I like the backside connectors over everything plugged into the front....
Just wondering, why put the GPU power through the front grommet instead of the cut out under the motherboard at the bottom?
The one thing I noticed with this case and build is that with standard length PSU cables it seems like you can't use that 3.5" drive cage . I also wonder how tight it is to connect the 8+8 CPU cables when the drive cage is installed. I get the move towards using smaller 2.5" and M2 SSD's but until you can buy 8+TB SSD's for a reasonable price like you can with the older 3.5" HD's the older HD's need a place in the ecosystem.
Case reminds me of the Sahara Gaming P480.being a long lian-li O11 air-style case.
50$ per fan is such an insult to consumers
@MrDgt66
3 ай бұрын
@ 50 bucks I'm not a fan anymore..
@superheracross89
3 ай бұрын
Qx are the 50 dollar ones rx is 35 the 3 packs are 160 vs 100 it more depends on how much rgb u want
One thing I never noticed nor thought about with these motherboard/cases that have the cables on the back. How do they handle board of difference sizes? This case, for example, wouldn't be able to work with any ITX reverse boards since the cutouts are there only for the mATX size.
I hope it's worth the money. I just ordered everything you used for my grandson's birthday.
Sorry if I missed it but you said you were going to do an video on how veiwers can upgrade their PC's. How to submit them for your advise
I'm after a real review of the board itself. Want to see if it's a good board or if it counts to the crappy 650 boards which are out there. Might just go for the asus 650e-e board instead but really like this clean look.
This build (the main one, not the sensible one 🤣🤷♂) is almost exactly what I have on my list for my new rig that I'm hopefully building soon-ish this year: 7950X3D, 64GB of DDR5 6000 (CL30 hopefully), at least a 2TB NVME drive, and I want either a 7900XTX or a 4090. I'll probably go with the 7900XTX at first, and then get a 4090 on "sale" when the 50 series comes out. I just want that sweet sweet 24GB of VRAM. I could take it or leave it as far as RT goes, lol.
8:55 my Corsair Air 540 just scoffed in your general direction.
Very cool.
This is an excellent video. That case make me go hmm, i kinda like it
BTF is way to go! Just need a good case now. Im looking at you Lian Li.
If the case had vertical GPU mount support you could mount the GPU vertically and use a 180 connector on the GPU to run the cables behind your graphics card where they wont be visible for an even cleaner aesthetic.
@garetht677
Ай бұрын
it does, the adapter is only now on the market for around £81 fits the 2500 and 6500 series.
If I was still seeking an upgrade. I might have gotten one of these instead of the 7900 XT. Think I prefer the 1440p headroom though.
Great vid Paul! I went with the 7900 GRE over the 7800 XT, only because I’m doing an all-white build for my daughter. And the price difference between the particular white 7800 XT and 7900 GRE GPUs I was researching, was only $10. 🤷♂️ However, I offset the total cost by acquiring a Ryzen 7600x CPU for $169 USD + tax. I feel the 7600x will work just fine with the 7900 GRE. And if it doesn’t, I’ll just go with something else. So, my conscience is clear. 😂😂😂
Thank you for the great video, I have followed you for several years, and appreciate your time. I have learned much from you and have decided to build my own YT channel to follow my passion as you have. Thanks again. Success in Life with Mike
im inpress in your videos keep it up
Are all those fans really necessary? I wonder what would be the best ratio?
My 2 pence: As much as I love the MoBo cables moved to the back, I wouldn't pay extra to do that when I've got all those GPU power cables running front and center. Would like to see sometime a zero cable build where the GPU is vertically mounted with a 90 degree adapter for sending those GPU power cables directly towards the MoBo.
@tommeegunn9318
3 ай бұрын
There was a new system with the grafics card having the power direct from the mobo. No cables at all. It was shown at the show
I do hope more motherboard manufactures support this or at least MSI releases a black version.
What program are you using to Stress test? I'm sure you said it but I missed it. Sorry.
asalwaystyforyourhardworkanddedication!!! tytytyty glhf fam! p.s. 23:44 the video length was perfect! gg wp gre is ok connectors on the backside maybe cool the corsair stuff, on point as always as are you!
Hmm idk, I think these back connectors might catch on as a new standard. We already know how obsessed people are with looks, and practical users will like the ease of installation. I could see this also saving a lot of production time for prebuilt manufacturers. I think it will become more and more common and lower prices will follow.
Really liking the backside connectors. So much cleaner and easier to deal with once your components are installed. Like others have said, this is years overdue, and I feel like it'll be awhile before I build one as I'm not in the market for new cases. But a standard absolutely needs to happen. Hopefully, this catches on enough that the GPU power connectors also get moved; the top of the card was, is and always be the dumbest location choice in the history of the PC, and that's including the CPU power connectors. As for the rest of the build, a more reasonably priced GPU is great - I genuinely don't care if it's a strong overclocker or not. The fans - way too pricey just to move where the rats nest of RGB wiring is. Not a fan of the haphazard, 'wherever they'll fit' 2.5" drive layout, but this style case is clearly not geared towards storage.
4070 super would have been amazing only thing keeping it back is the v ram . It might have been amazing if it came with 16gb for v ram ram
I love this build! Thanks for doing it!
Excellent
i like the case.. but the price is a good selling point to get the o11 mini air instead
You didn't show the m2 heatplate. Did you peel off the film?
Love your videos, but I really liked it when you gave a PC part picker list as I could change to a different country and immediately get the local prices.
@paulshardware
3 ай бұрын
I have good news then! I am working with PCPartPicker on a new series, kicking off next week 👍
@tommeegunn9318
3 ай бұрын
I am searching through the vid for an overall price of the build. I cannot find price!
I like the back side connectors for ease of use, but they aren’t easy to use in 99% of cases.
When is the build with The Tower 300 coming? I'm torn between green or yellow. Help a brother out lol
revisiting the O11 mini from lian-li?
That is the cleanest build I have seen.
"Paul made a video that was too long" - said no one, ever...
I can't be the only one thinking there is almost no way you could have used the 3.5" HD bay with the clutter of cables at the top right of the case. The cage for the HDs must be a really close fit with the MB power connections as well, right? How would that even work? I always have at least (2) 10TB+ Iron Wolf drives for data storage so this would be a deal breaker for me, though I know I am likely in the minority still using spinning drives. Other than that though, looks pretty nice!
fuck, this build is so cool. I wish I had the money to keep on building and learning. but these videos will do!
Great stuff, as always, guys! Why do I need a motherboard with rear connectors? Because f*ck cable management, that's why! 🤣
Not a fan of having the connectors on the back. I actually like seeing a little bit of the wires, especially if they are clean.
why no anti bending/buckle support for the cpu?
I see Corsair haven't brought out any reverse air flow fans then.
Hi Paul. If I saw all those boxes on my friend's work bench it would mean two things. He got his IRS refund and has an account at NewEgg. My iCUE software went South in a big way. A video of what happens and what to do next would be informative.
Corsair, All the Things! huh? Also, we heard you liked mesh.....
Maybe they can standardize the front panel connectors at some point too. 🤦♂️
I'm a bit confused about the comparison of the 7900 GRE to the 4070 Super. Maybe I misheard. Seeing the Time Spy results at 15:38 I thought to myself, "I swear my results were considerably better". So, I just ran Time Spy on my own recently built system (14900K, MSI RTX 4070 Super, 64G 6000MT/s CL30 RAM, MSI z790 Tomahawk Max)... and scored 21478 (21277 GPU). Granted, it's a synthetic benchmark, but I got more than double the score presented in the video. That certainly doesn't feel like these are relatively comparable cards by any stretch. I don't have a massive library of games or multiple GPUs hanging around to do side by side comparisons, so maybe real world results would put these two far closer than the benchmarks would suggest?
@paulshardware
3 ай бұрын
Sounds like you ran Time Spy instead of Time Spy Extreme
@JonnyBravo0311
3 ай бұрын
@@paulshardware I knew I must have missed something :). Thanks for the clarification, Paul!
Looking beat Paul 😅 Don’t worry man one day this market will turn around ❤
Companies that make custom cables will be out of business. I don't mind. I love this idea. I can't believe it took this long to figure this out.
I ordered a GRE and hope to get it delivered soon